Durkheim sees anomie as responsible for the world’s disorder of economics- the lack of morality and regulation resulted in overpowering the weak; thus, he feels that only norms can prevent the abuse of power and calls for regulation and equal opportunity from birth- the greater the equal opportunity the less need for restraint. Marx looked at how capitalism separated humanity by making work a simple means of individual existence. In addition he describes society in terms of class and economic conflicts. Marx saw proletariat or people of a working class as being underneath the bourgeoisie or the capitalist of a modern society. Marx looked at how alienation of production of commodities by workers also leads to alienation of social life.
This essay will explore the differences and similarities between two social scientists’ view of how social order is made and rebuilt. Both are concerned with governance (Silva, E, pg. 309), that being the action or manner of governing either individuals or society as a whole and how authority and discipline are exercised. The two propositions that will be compared and contrasted are: · Goffman - that social order is produced through the everyday actions and practices of people as they live their lives (Silva, E, pg. 316) · Foucault - that social order is produced through the power of knowledge and discourse (that which is talked about), which are the products of historical processes (Silva, E, pg.
Functionalism is a macro theory, which looks at society as a whole rather than focuses on each individual. It is a theory that concentrates on the harmony between social institutions in society that is based on a consensus view rather than a conflict view as a Marxism theory. As a comparison to society as a whole, Functionalists use an organic analogy as an example. Each organ of the human body has a different job to do and if one part became ill or diseased, the rest could be contaminated or will produce changes in other parts. Similarly the operation of any society is dependent on its social institutions as they provide vital functions which maintain harmony, stability and solidarity within a society.
Through this we have learned that as working class, we expect and accept that we will be exploited by the ruling class in terms of our surplus value. This is known as a crisis of Hegemony. They go on to say that we have internalised the DVS to such an extent that any other value system seems absurd, resulting in a state of false class consciousness. Marx believed that we will see a social revolution which will overthrow capitalism and replace it with true communism. Marxism sees religion as a feature which is only relevant in a society based on class division I.E the ruling classes and the working classes.
Subculture theories is a theory where individuals have the same interests, problems and concerns which will form a subculture. Deviance in terms of the subculture of a social group arguing that certain groups develop norms and values which are to some extent different from those held by other members of society. There are a number of sociological theories. Functionalist see shared norms and values as the basis of social order and social solidarity. they consider crime and deviance, ahead of a certain level to be dysfunctional to society, as it is seen as threat to social order.
Marx believed that societies grew and changed due to struggles of different social classes. Durkheim believed in studying the “social facts,” which would help determine if a society was healthy or pathological. Weber’s focus on the structure of society included the elements of class, status and power. Each sociologist had a great influence in the field of sociology, but took different approaches to studying societies. Sociology enables us to understand how society functions and under which circumstances.
The origin of social disorganization theory can be traced to the work of Shaw and McKay, who concluded that disorganized areas marked by divergent values and transitional populations produce criminality. Strain theories view crime as resulting from the anger people experience over their inability to achieve legitimate social and economic success. These theories hold that most people share common values and beliefs but the ability to achieve them is differentiated throughout the social structure. The best known strain theory is Merton's, which describes what happens when people have inadequate means to satisfy their needs. Cultural deviance theories hold that a unique value system develops in lower class areas.
Compare and contrast Buchanan and Monderman’s approaches to the production of social order in public spaces Our society is governed by rules, norms (society’s shared set of behavioural expectations and values) and customs that shape behaviour and conduct. Some rules are enforced by law, with penalties for those that do not obey, helping to maintain a stable and predictable social environment known as ‘social order’. Our negotiation of rules and expectations often causes disputes that create a breakdown in social order. Large scale disorder often prompts the government to write new laws or re-think existing social order policies to implement change and remake order. This adapting and renegotiating of rules is continuously required in making and remaking order as society constantly changes and evolves.
This essay analyses differences in these approaches regarding SDO as an influential factor when predicting behaviours which can establish an individual’s position in a social hierarchy being context dependent as SIT claims or determined by an individual as SDT states. SDT was instigated by Sidanius and Pratto (1999) and inspired from SIT (Tajfel, 1978; Tajfel & Turner, 1986). The theory attempts to comprehend the foundation of forming and upholding group based social hierarchies. They claim hierarchically based societies are more essential for a sustainable continuation compared to democratic societies which are not as stable, group based hierarchies are able to maintain their stability by reinforcing several mechanisms in the form of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination termed ‘legitimizing myths’, mainly through social policies exerted by high status groups. Similar to SIT, SDT states that low status groups or individuals attempt to progress their status, although SDT stresses the struggle of inequality between groups and dominance of higher status groups.
The working class may be more likely to commit crime than the middle class for reasons such as the means of survival in poverty or the alienation and lack of control they have on their lives leading to frustration and committing crime. The divide in class may been seen as the cause of this, along with the influence of the media, as working class individuals may wish to obtain the consumer goods seen advertised, however the only way of acquiring these products is through utilitarian crimes such as theft. Thus, Marxists strongly link capitalism and crime around the working class's inability to attain material wealth and the issues presented around that, such as envy and competition. Marxists, also criticise functionalists in terms of the state and law as they believe the law reflects the value consensus in society. Chambliss suggests that the law serves the interests of the capital class, consequently providing laws protecting private property leading to the continuation of the capitalist economy.